Abstract:
Dental caries is a major public health problem affecting 60-
90% children globally and associated with diet and
nutrition. Objective: To establish the relationship between
dental caries and nutritional status of 5-year-old school
children in urban and rural areas of Uasin-Gishu County.
Study group: A cross sectional survey was used to select
382 five-year-old children and their parents/caregivers from
urban and rural schools in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya.
Methods: Dental caries status was assessed based on
WHO criteria for oral health surveys. Anthropometric
measurements were used to assess the nutritional status
of the children and analyzed using ENA for SMART
computer programmes. Pearson’s correlation was used to
determine the relationship between nutritional status and
dft. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results:
The prevalence of dental caries among the children was
39.3% (dft = 1.55). Overweight was higher urban area
compared to the rural at 13.6% and 8.9% respectively,
while underweight was higher in rural areas at 10.7%.
In both rural and urban sample (n = 384), underweight
(r = 0.67; p = 0.047), overweight (r = 0.83; p = 0.012),
obesity (r = 0.53; p = 0.031) and wasting (r = 0.16;
p = 0.041) had a significant relationship with dft (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Programs targeting alleviation of malnutrition
among children be modified to include dental caries
mitigation.
